If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

And the old adage that "the aggressive team" gets the benefit of the doubt didn't hold up.

But really, just like in every game there were two or three calls I didn't like and a couple of plays where I thought we got a break. There's never perfect officiating, but I've got a hard time believing that's why we lost.

SJax was MIA, and JO's shot got away from him in the second half. The Pistons tightened up their "D". Rip was in a zone. Chauncey played a great game. Perhaps there was too much AJ and not enough Tinsley down the stretch when our offense was struggling. Brownie's halftime adjustments were perfect. The officiating would be no higher than #7/8 on my list.

Even with Jack and Tinsley's ineffectiveness, if we don't get whistled for the two consecutive Jermaine offensive fouls and the AJ BS call, we don't fall back by 5 with 4 minutes to go.

one other note:

Spooner called O'Neal for three fouls in a span of 52 seconds in the fourth quarter.

Spooner whistled O'Neal for a defensive foul with 9:49 to play and the Pacers leading 68-64. On the next possession, Spooner called on offensive foul when O'Neal was jockeying with Rasheed Wallace for position. After the Pistons pulled within 68-67, Spooner called O'Neal for another offensive foul with 8:57 left, the fourth foul of the game for the O'Neal. Detroit's Richard Hamilton hit a layup with 8:36 to play and the Pacers never led again.

The Pacers hit 2-of-7 free throws; the Pistons were 22-for-24.

"That third team out there, the discrepancy in free throw shooting -- they shot 24, we shot seven," Pacers guard Anthony Johnson said. ". . . It's unfortunate the game wasn't decided by the players tonight."

And the old adage that "the aggressive team" gets the benefit of the doubt didn't hold up.

But really, just like in every game there were two or three calls I didn't like and a couple of plays where I thought we got a break. There's never perfect officiating, but I've got a hard time believing that's why we lost.

SJax was MIA, and JO's shot got away from him in the second half. The Pistons tightened up their "D". Rip was in a zone. Chauncey played a great game. Perhaps there was too much AJ and not enough Tinsley down the stretch when our offense was struggling. Brownie's halftime adjustments were perfect. The officiating would be no higher than #7/8 on my list.

The officiating was awful but it didn't cost us the game. The Pistons are clearly a better team. I emphasize team because they played like one and for extended periods of time in these playoffs the Pacers didn't.

I disagree with your "agressive team" point. The reason the foul shots were so different is because our "Franchise" player kept shooting fade away 20 footers in the second half. That is not being agressive. No one took the ball to the basket in the 2nd half. Tinsley was horrible and so was JO. JO is, for whatever reason, completely intimidated by Detroit, especially Rasheed. I think Rasheed must have really dominated him in practice when JO was in Portland. The guy is in JO's head big time.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
- Benjamin Franklin

The officiating was awful but it didn't cost us the game. The Pistons are clearly a better team. I emphasize team because they played like one and for extended periods of time in these playoffs the Pacers didn't.

I disagree with your "agressive team" point. The reason the foul shots were so different is because our "Franchise" player kept shooting fade away 20 footers in the second half. That is not being agressive. No one took the ball to the basket in the 2nd half. Tinsley was horrible and so was JO. JO is, for whatever reason, completely intimidated by Detroit, especially Rasheed. I think Rasheed must have really dominated him in practice when JO was in Portland. The guy is in JO's head big time.

Fair point. We were the aggressor in the first half, but the refs swallowed thier whistles for the entire half (which was fine since they swallowed thier whistles at both ends of the court.) But the Pistons were clearly more aggressive in the second half.

And I still believe that JO's shoulder was a bigger problem than JO's head, although if we wanted to see fade-aways in that situation, wouldn't Al be cheaper?? Anyway, I think the shoulder had as much to do with the fadeaways as anything else, so I want to wait until JO's healthy again before I say something like "I want fifteen new players next season" .... wait I already did that.

Mushmouth, I agree that Bill Spooner's sequence was horrible. I've had to listen to Jay's_Wife@Section204 complain about that portion of the game all night. I just think that there were several other factors that were more significant than the officiating.

Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

I don't blame the refs for us losing. I do blame them for Kegboy having an asthma attack during the game.

I blame it on me screaming so hard because we were losing.

Anyway, about the refs. The worst officiated game I've ever seen was the Women's NCAA regional final in Lubbock, 1998, where Purdue lost to Louisiana Tech. For those who don't remember (), the refs were perfectly fine the first half. They allowed a good deal of contact, which favored LT, but they gave the impression they were going to let the players decide the game. They were perfectly consistent in their calls, and gave plenty of time for the girls to get into rhythm. Then, they came back at halftime and pulled the rug out from under both teams.

Now, Thursday wasn't as bad as that was. But it's the first time since that I've seen an officiating crew completely change their gameplan at halftime. If things were getting chippy between teams, then it makes sense to bring the hammer down. But the game was nothing like that. Frustrating.

And for the record, after I recovered from my attack, I was starting to say the following to grace, but was interrupted by Reggie being taken out.